Sr. Manager, Clinical Operations

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. seeks a Sr. Manager, Clinical Operations to lead operational planning and execution for global trials from start-up to closeout.

You will steer cross-functional teams, manage timelines and budgets, ensure quality, and drive risk mitigation to meet program goals. Responsibilities include oversight of CROs and vendors, regulatory compliance, inspections preparation, and continual process improvements.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of clinical research experience with CRO/Biotech/pharma in global trials.
• 3-5 years leading end-to-end global Phase 3 registrational trials.
• Experience managing CROs and study vendors and budgets.
• Strong decision-making, analytical and financial management skills.
• Proven leadership and mentoring abilities in cross-functional teams.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional trial teams to develop and execute study operational plans and end-to-end trial execution.
• Own trial delivery: timelines, budget, quality, milestones and deliverables.
• Oversee CRO/vendor selection, onboarding, contracting, budget management and issue resolution.
• Identify operational risks and implement mitigations aligned with goals.
• Ensure compliance with global regulations and internal SOPs; support inspections.
• Mentor Study Management colleagues and share best practices.
• Liaise with Finance, Program Management, Vendor Management, Safety, Data Management, Regulatory, Medical Affairs.
• Provide budget-to-actual variance analyses and governance updates.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Budget management

Vendor management

Project planning

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

MS Office Suite

MS Project

Job description

The Sr. Manager, Clinical Operations is responsible for leading the operational planning and execution of global clinical trials from study start-up through closeout. This role provides leadership to cross-functional trial teams, ensuring trial objectives are achieved on time, within budget, and in compliance with applicable regulations, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), and company procedures. The Sr. Manager identifies and mitigates operational risks, drives alignment across stakeholders, and delivers high-quality trial execution in support of development program goals.

Summary of Key Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional trial teams to develop and execute study operational plans and deliver successful end-to-end trial execution.
• Accountable for trial-level delivery, including timelines, budget management, quality oversight, key milestones, and critical study deliverables.
• Oversee CRO and vendor selection, onboarding, contracting, budget management, performance monitoring, and issue resolution to ensure successful study delivery.
• Proactively identify operations risks and ensure that trial deliverables and milestones are met according to corporate and study-level goals.
• Identify risks and ensure mitigations and contingencies are being initiated and followed through.
• Ensure trial is operationalized in compliance with global health authority regulations and guidelines and internal operating procedures and processes.
• Participate in preparation for, and conduct of, Health Authority Inspections and internal QA audits
• Ensure that the trial team operates in a constant state of inspection-readiness, collaborating with R&D Quality to ensure quality oversight
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by identifying opportunities to enhance study execution, operational efficiency, quality, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Mentor and support onboarding and development of Study Management colleagues, sharing best practices and lessons learned across teams.
• Interface with internal key stakeholders including, but not limited to; Finance, Program Management, Vendor Management, Safety, Accounting, Supply, Quality Assurance, Data Management, Statistics, Clinical Research, Commercial, Regulatory, Bio Analytical, Medical Affairs; which may include acting as a liaison between groups.
• Provide a variance analysis of budget to actual and notify finance of projected cost over/under expenditure.
• Prepare and provide operational updates, risks, and recommendations to governance forums, leadership teams, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Ability to travel approximately 10% but flexibility to go over or below as per business need.

Qualifications

• BS/ BA degree is required.
• Minimum 7+ years of clinical research experience gained with a CRO, Biotech or Pharmaceutical Company working on Phase 1-4 global clinical trials.
• 3-5 years leading end to end global clinical trials with experience in conducting Phase 3 registrational trials
• Experience leading global trials outsourced to a CRO and ability to manage all aspects of execution of a clinical trial
• Excellent decision-making, analytical and financial management skills are essential to this position
• Excellent leadership skills, proven ability to foster team productivity and cohesiveness and the ability to operate and execute with limited supervision
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional teams in global matrix organizations and achieving results through influence.
• Experience mentoring/ coaching others
• Exceptional organizational skills and ability to deal with competing priorities, also strong reasoning and problem-solving ability.
• Strong project planning/ management, communication (written and verbal) and presentation skills
• Proficient with MS Office Suite (Excel, Word and PowerPoint) and MS Project.

About Alnylam

We are the leader in RNAi therapeutics - a revolutionary approach with the potential to transform the lives of people with rare and common diseases.

Built on Nobel Prize-winning science, Alnylam has delivered the breakthroughs that made RNAi therapeutics possible and are just at the beginning of what's possible.

Our deep pipeline, late-stage programs, and bold vision reflect our core values: fierce innovation, passion for excellence, purposeful urgency, open culture and commitment to people.

We're proud to be a globally recognized top employer, where an authentic, inclusive culture and breakthrough thinking fuel one another.

At Alnylam, we commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equal employment opportunity.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their sex, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, pregnancy status or related conditions, genetic information, veteran or military status, marital or familial status, political affiliation, age, or any other factor protected by fe